


Where I belong

by erens (harucchis)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Annie spends some quality time with a cat, Attempt at Humor, Birthday Fluff, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Platonic Relationships, Self-Indulgent, annieweek 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-06 17:06:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14061480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harucchis/pseuds/erens
Summary: Annie isn't good at naming cats, but Hitch doesn't mind.





	Where I belong

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing something for the snk fandom, and it's overly self-indulgent and ship free. It combines two prompts from the annieweek event on tumblr: modern setting au (day 6) and annie's birthday (day 7). I have nothing much to say about this, except that the idea of Annie + cats + people who genuinely care and look after her is so appealing to me and I have wanted to write something with those themes for a long while now.
> 
> Many thanks to Tori (tatakaeeren on tumblr) for looking over this piece and helping me out, and also my friend Nez for proofreading and giving me some really helpful feedback. Much love ♥ 
> 
> Happy birthday to my favorite girl Annie ♡ and I hope you enjoy this story

The heavy rain outside is unsettling. Annie prepares some tea and heads back to the living room where the tv is running. The criminal show that is airing, a welcome distraction, albeit not the best with how many times she has watched these same episodes already. But it works.

Hitch sends a text message apologizing for being late and tells her she’s stuck at work for at least one more hour. Annie replies that it’s alright. They can go out some other time when it isn’t raining cats and dogs. She’s done with the tea now and taking a nap is tempting her since there are no plans for the night anymore.

With the tea mug in the sink, Annie goes into her room to fetch a blanket. Thunderbolts have started falling upon the city. A glance to the clock hanging above the horizontal bookcase on the wall, where Hitch keeps her old worn out fictional novels, indicates that it’s 5pm. It’s early and she still needs to finish grading some of the biology papers her students have submitted early this week. She turns off the tv.

Instead of lying down for a nap on the couch, she sits and wraps the blanket around her shoulders, opens her laptop and starts looking over the already downloaded documents. Revising becomes exhausting within half an hour, and her legs ache for being in the same position for too long.

Annie stretches and yawns. The sound of thunder startles her. The rain has let up a little, but the sky still looks dark and menacing. She gets up and makes a beeline for the window behind the couch, opens it and peers outside.

People are rushing down the street to avoid the downpour. A child clutches his mother’s hand and tugs her forward to a café tucked in among the tall buildings. The mom smiles and holds the door open to allow her son and an elderly couple to get inside. Annie supposes a place like that is a perfect shelter during this kind of weather.

Nothing much happens after that, except someone missing the bus and a couple trying to be romantic in the rain while almost falling face first in a puddle. Annie picks up the blanket from the floor and drapes it over the arm of the couch, considering another trip to the kitchen to get more tea.

The sound is faint at first but makes her rush to the window. The small tabby cat is ready to run away when she spots it on the rooftop. She puts her hands up and speaks in a low voice to not scare it away,

“What are you doing here, little one?”

It meows pitifully in reply but doesn’t move, trembles in the cold, soaked and miserable. Annie glances around for any sight of their owner, but finds nothing, her hesitation melts away when their eyes meet. The hopeful look directed her way, difficult to ignore.

Annie sighs, “Alright, you can come in.”

The cat crosses the small distance between them. She scoops it with her hands, closes the window and takes it to the bathroom. She dries it with a towel as thoroughly as possible and receives a headbutt to her hand, in thankfulness or irritation, she isn’t sure.

It climbs down the counter and starts scraping at the closed door. Annie humors it. The feline is quick to run down the hallway in the direction of the living room. After tossing the towel into the hamper, she follows it. Annie isn’t particularly fond of pets, but cats have always been a weakness of her. A fluffy, quiet and unpredictable company.

The cat is waiting for her in the entryway of the kitchen, it wears an expectant look on its face. Annie chuckles and asks, “I don’t even know your name and you already want food?”

It meows in reply and saunters towards her, twines its tail around her legs. Annie crouches down and pats its head. She’s sure now that the cat isn’t a stray one, given by how friendly it’s being, so it must live somewhere in the building.

“I don’t have cat food,” Annie explains. The cat begins to purr under the attentions and sprawls on the floor. It bites at her fingers in a playful demeanor and meows again. It’s impossible to deny what it wants. Hitch will probably question her when she comes home, but she needs the food so be it.

Hitch’s reply to her text message is a winky emoji. Annie puts away the phone on the coffee table as the cat hops onto the couch and curls up beside her, it seems to be okay with waiting for the food to arrive. She lets it nap away.

 

*******

 

Her neck aches, she wakes up with the cat’s tail brushing against her cheek and Hitch watching over both of them with an amused grin on her lips. Annie attempts to sit up, but the cat snuggles closer to her belly and its sleepy face melts her resolve.

Hitch snorts and raises a brow, “Never thought I would get to see something like this in my lifetime.”

“You are home,” Annie states.

Hitch waves the bag with the food in front of her, “Yes, I am! But now stop avoiding me and tell me all the details!” She claps her hands together, “I’m so excited!”.

Annie ignores her inquisitive gaze and coaxes the cat to take the spot beside her again. She isn’t even sure how it ended up on a double nap in the first place. The cat stretches its legs and obeys but instead of laying down, it sits there and starts grooming itself, uncaring of the adoring glances that Hitch is throwing its way.

“Come on, Annie! I don’t think our little buddy here will want to wait anymore once it realizes that the food has arrived,” Hitch cajoles.

“I just found it out the window,” Annie says, shrugging her shoulders and not knowing why Hitch looks so disappointed.

“That’s it? I thought you were gonna tell me some really exciting story that occurred under the rain where you chased the cat or something,” She rattles on.

“I dried it with your towel,” Annie says with a deadpan expression, “Is that exciting enough for you?”

Hitch feigns a wounded expression and laughs obnoxiously, “It isn’t me who’s doing the laundry next, so…”

“Let’s just give it food already”

“You are blushing!” Hitch yells. Annie gets up from the couch and leaves, the cat meows and follows her as Hitch keeps on cackling in the living room.

 

*******

 

“Have you decided on a name for it?” Hitch asks, while they sit on the chairs around the dining table and wait for the water to boil on the stove.

“Not really. I’m not sure if it has an owner or not,”

Hitch shakes her head, “It was out in the rain. Even if it has an owner, I don’t think they care enough about the poor thing.”

The cat is eating from its plate in the corner of the kitchen, a pleased look on its face once it is done and licks its mouth. The feline walks towards them and climbs onto Hitch’s laps like they had known each other for years instead of only two hours. Annie isn’t surprised.

“Don’t worry little buddy we are keeping you, so you will have all the food you want from now on,” Hitch assures.

Annie is glad she doesn’t need to express her agreement verbally. Hitch has read her right back in the living room. It’s a relief to be understood to this extent.

She pours the water into two mugs and brings them to the table. Hitch smiles, “Same as always?”

Annie nods, Hitch passes her a tea bag and gets one for her own drink as well. The cat blinks one eye open from where it’s sleeping on Hitch’s lap and closes it after a moment of inspecting the situation. 

“So how do you want to call it?” Hitch asks, sipping at her tea and patting the cat’s head.

“Whiskers? Or any other of those names you see around on the internet?”

Hitch pouts, “You didn’t even try.”

Annie tilts her head to the side and presses her lips together, pondering, “I will just leave it to you.”

Hitch laughs, “Yeah, yeah. Otherwise you will just end up naming the cat some weird stuff you see on google or something.”

Annie doesn’t deny it because she would do that. The cat is lucky Hitch is here.

“But,” Hitch adds, “even if you suck at this kind of stuff, I still want to celebrate with you.”

Annie narrows her eyes and offers a confused look in reply, “Celebrate what?”

“Did you forget it again?”

Annie says, “I really have no idea what you are talking about now.”

Hitch sighs, exasperated. She leaves the kitchen with the cat in her arms and takes a couple of minutes to come back. Annie waits, still oblivious but trying to remember if today marks some special event. All she can recall is the month being March.

“You are unbelievable, sometimes”, Hitch affirms when she comebacks, her hands full with a cake box that’s impossible to miss.

Annie can’t do much, except murmur a, “You didn’t have to.” That only makes her friend roll her eyes as she strides to the counter and places the cake box on top of it. She searches for two plates.

“Hitch?”

“Yeah?” She replies, cutting the small cake by half. The words written on it are still readable.

“Thank you,”

Hitch giggles and says, “Happy Birthday, Annie.”


End file.
